Mechanical and Civil Engineering Seminar

Prof. Shannon Yee directs the Scalable Thermal Energy Engineering Lab (STEEL) at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the G.W.W. School of Mechanical Engineering. His laboratory focuses on direct thermal energy conversion and thermal transport technologies, translating fundamental science into application. The thermal conversion technologies that STEEL currently focusses on are: (i) polymer-based thermoelectrics, and (ii) thermo-electrochemical converters, specifically sodium ion heat engines and redox flow battery coolers. The thermal transport technologies that STEEL currently focusses on include: (i) frequency domain thermal reflectance for thermal property measurements and (ii) application of 3-omega thermometry for gas sensing and calorimetry. Prof. Yee also co-directs the Heat Lab, which aspires to be the global center of excellence in thermal measurements, simulations, and innovation. The Heat Lab is a user facility training graduate students in a suite a thermal property measurement techniques and providing thermal expertise to solve pressing thermal problems for industry. This overview seminar will provide a high-level introduction to the research topics, discoveries, and technologies coming out of the STEEL and the Heat Lab under Prof. Yee's guidance that attempt to address some of the most pressing thermal challenges. This seminar is structured as a choose-your-own-adventure across numerous topics based on interest. The underlying motivation across these topics stems from development of global electrification, global cooling, and electrifying transportation. The most popular topics cover: (a) air-stable metal-coordinated n-type polymer thermoelectrics, the best in-class n-type polymer thermoelectrics (b) low temperature thermal transport in amorphous polymer, empirical observations of propagons and diffusons, and (c) thermo-electrochemical converters, opportunities for improved generator and cooler efficiency.